5 Tips For Marketing in an Emerging Market

The Focus on Emerging Markets

There is a lot of buzz going around about “emerging markets” and all of the opportunities available for investors, but marketing in an emerging market can be a little tricky – if you do not know what your are doing.

What are they ? Where are they ?

Image from http://stocksonwallstreet.net

Emerging markets are nations undergoing a period of rapid growth, essentially 21^st century Industrial Revolutions for nations that have not yet been developed. The major nations currently undergoing this transition, and are seen as a hotbed of prospects, are the BRIC nations of Brazil, Russia, India, China as well as South Korea and Indonesia. There are speculations about other nations joining this list, especially the “Next Eleven” group that includes additions such as Nigeria, Turkey, Pakistan and Vietnam.

Barriers for Marketers ?

Marketing in a foreign country is not simple and in these emerging markets, a company is going to face many barriers. Here are 5 important issues you might face.

• Demand: People needs vary in diverse locations, peoples lives and needs differ across nations. As well, a market may already have similar product to yours which has mass appeal and competing with the local product may be quite difficult.
• Language, Customs, Culture: A deep understandind and knowledge of the language, customs and culture is important to be able to market a product well and in-line with a culture’s values, humor, and appropriate language use. Mannerisms and communication styles vary across culture, it is important to be able to relate to customers and business partners.
• Brand Popularity : Just as the previous point introduced, what is popular in one nation will not always translate into another, even if a brand is well known globally and is recognizable, it does not  mean it will sell well necessarily in all markets. It is important to frame a brand in a relevant way to fit a culture.
• Local Support : Going into an emerging market means you are going to need reliable partners and local employees who know the region and how to market to the people. It is not easy and it takes time to build a bank of contacts that will provide the type of results necessary yo be successful.
• Location: Being located in distant time zones presents a challenge to coordinating business. This problem is aided with the useof the Internet, but for huge time zone changes, this should be take into consideration, as scheduling is very important in ordre to keep projects on track and organized.

Are you marketing in an emerging market? What tips or other issues have you run into?

On the docket next week will be going over the web marketing tactics to use in an emerging market, stay tuned!